Blaise's Birth Story
OCTOBER 10, 2020
The Birth of Blaise
As told by Blaise’s Mom and The Birth Center client, Mary
When I got pregnant with my fifth baby in January 2020, I was receiving prenatal care with a large OB/GYN practice. COVID started ramping up during the first trimester, and I was a little nervous. I didn’t know what it would mean for labor and delivery at the hospital.
By April and May, there were mask mandates, and I read stories about women going to hospital births, and their husbands or doulas weren’t allowed to be there. I have friends who are labor and delivery nurses, so I asked them what would happen if I refused to be swabbed or wear a mask. They said the staff would treat me as if I had the coronavirus and be wearing full PPE. I also learned that those who consented to being swabbed and tested positive could have their babies taken away, or were only allowed to hold them while nursing and wearing a mask and gloves.
As June started, I was done playing Russian Roulette with my birth plan. I had given birth at the hospital four times before — twice with no medication and twice with an epidural. I felt confident I could labor naturally again. I had a friend who delivered at a birth center, so I searched online and found The Birth Center.
Around 30 weeks, I talked to Ruth on the phone. It was late afternoon on a Saturday, and she listened to all of my fears about hospital birth. She was so understanding and agreed that much of what was happening with care for pregnant and laboring mothers was less grounded in science and more grounded in extraordinary precautions ]. Ruth said if I came in that week, I could transfer my prenatal care to The Birth Center.
My husband and I went for a tour, and we were both struck by how simple, yet safe, things seemed there. The staff was proficient, and I felt comfortable. It was such a contrast from what I had experienced at the OB/GYN’s office, where my husband was not allowed to come, and I went to my ultrasounds alone. At The Birth Center, my husband, Sean, could go with me. We prayed about it and felt that this was the right move.
At 36 weeks, I learned that the baby was breech, so Ruth recommended I see a chiropractor with expertise in this area. I thought I would have to go to the hospital for an external version, but after seeing the chiropractor, the baby flipped by my next appointment with Ruth. She wasn’t worried because she’s seen breech babies before. That’s what we needed – someone who is confident and has experience.
Laboring at Home
At the beginning of my pregnancy, my due date was October 9, but after an early miscarriage scare, I had an ultrasound and the OB/GYN’s office moved my due date to October 2. That was frustrating and scary because I went well past October 2 and had no signs that labor was near — and I didn’t want to be induced. At what we thought was my 40-week mark, Ruth looked over my records and said it didn’t seem right that my due date had been changed. If I hadn’t been at The Birth Center, I probably would’ve been induced and possibly had an epidural and other interventions, which was exactly the opposite of what I wanted.
On the morning of October 10, I started feeling contractions about 6-7 minutes apart. Since we live only five minutes from The Birth Center, Ruth met us there at about 5 p.m. While we were there, I didn’t have one contraction. In fact, I walked in smiling and in good humor — and obviously not in active labor. I realized I jumped the gun. Being pregnant and emotional, I started to cry, saying, “I’m sorry I brought you in.”
Ruth told me, “Stop it. This is what I’m here to do. Go home and let your labor progress.” It was the polar opposite of being in a hospital, where they triage you and have you walk around until you’re exhausted. With Ruth, there was no drama. She told me to get on my elbows and knees and sway around.
I trusted Ruth, so we went home, and I got on the bed and played When Harry Met Sally on my laptop. I stayed in the bedroom for four hours, alternating between being on elbows and knees and sitting on a stool, trying to open up my hips. Sean and I ate dinner, and the kids went to stay with their grandparents.
It was very relaxing to be laboring at home, instead of at a hospital, hooked up to a monitor, walking the hallways in a hospital gown and socks. Ruth’s guidance for positioning was so right and brought results. My labor finally really kicked into high gear. I had spent the last week walking around my neighborhood, pointlessly trying to walk the baby out. I wasn’t doing the right things to get him out; everything I had done with previous pregnancies didn’t work.
Labor really ramped up, and I stayed in contact with Ruth with calls and texts. She helped me see that I probably needed a little more time at home. Around 10:45 p.m., my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, and I had an intense feeling from my body that it was time to go to The Birth Center. I had hoped to use the tub for pain relief, so I wanted to make sure there was time for that.
Arriving at The Birth Center and Meeting Our Fifth Baby
I had two contractions in the car and one in the parking lot. We could tell that by laboring so long at home, I’d probably deliver the baby very soon. When Ruth checked my cervix, I was 7 centimeters dilated and totally effaced. Soon after, the doula, also named Ruth, arrived. I said to my husband, “I can’t do this,” and he knew I was in transition. Sean is a wonderful labor coach. He supports me and gets me anything I need. He helped me get through contractions by reminding me to breathe deeply and relax my face.
Both Ruths were waiting, not impatiently though. They were waiting with me, and it was a reassuring feeling. They knew I could do it and encouraged me to relax between contractions and let my body do the work.
By 11:15, the tub was ready. Floating in the water brought me immediate relief. I had watched birth videos and was psyched up for a water birth. I wanted to be one of those adorable cute women in the tub, wearing a fancy bra... but no. I took everything off and yelled through my contractions, oblivious to anything else. Soon after getting in, I had a really strong contraction and felt the baby crowning. I knew this was it — almost the end of labor! After about three or four contractions, he was out. Blaise was born at 11:45 p.m. on October 10, weighing 9 pounds, 14 ounces and measuring 22 inches long.
Ruth brought him right up to my chest, and we discovered he was a boy. I felt immediate relief that I was done and had an overwhelming sense of gratitude. My body had done what it was designed to do. With my husband behind me and both Ruths on either side, Blaise’s birth was such a peaceful moment. Labor was intensely hard, but after I made it to the top of the hill, I could coast down. I cried tears of joy and thanked God that he put me in the right place for this enormous baby to be born in a healthy way.
Receiving Postpartum Care and Lactation Support
Both Ruths helped me out of the tub, so I could deliver the placenta and get stitches for two small tears. When Ruth weighed him and told me I had just delivered a nearly 10 lb baby, my jaw hit the floor. Both my husband and I laughed in our shock. All of our other babies had weighed about eight and a half pounds, or nine pounds at most. Praise God I was in the water and it had been a smooth delivery. I shuddered to think what laboring and birthing on land would’ve been like.
We stayed at The Birth Center for about four hours after the birth. It was really sweet being there in the middle of the night — just me and my husband and both Ruths who were awake for this miracle.
The next morning at home, our other children got to meet Blaise. They were so sweet. I had told them they would go to bed, and one morning they’d wake up and see a baby. My youngest would lift up the covers every morning to see if I still had a pregnant belly.
Blaise latched well after birth, but I knew I would probably be back at The Birth Center in a couple days for some breastfeeding help. It’s so nice that Ruth offers lactation services, right in our neighborhood. I love that you don’t have to go through the maze of the hospital, where lactation consultants are buried in labor and delivery units. It’s hard to go to a hospital lactation consultant in the postpartum period when you’re still bleeding, and you have to park in a parking garage and the baby is crying. I knew if I had problems, I would just scoot back to Ruth. At the two-week mark, I indeed needed her to look at my latch. It got better, and I’m so grateful for the wisdom Ruth gives so generously.
From the first time I talked to Ruth, she was so understanding and knowledgeable. She was confident that our breech baby would turn and offered wonderful guidance during labor. I can’t say enough about how grateful we are to Ruth for allowing us to have that experience at The Birth Center.
For more information about our prenatal care and birth services at The Birth Center, click here: https://www.sactobirth.com/prenatal and https://www.sactobirth.com/birth-services
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